Mulayam, Tiwari meet fuels speculation

Political observers keenly watch every move of Samajwadi Party chief Muayam Singh Yadav these days as he is a key player in Delhi politics, as the UPA virtually depends on his support for survival.

He is keeping the Congress in suspense on support to FDI in case of vote in Parliament. In Rajya Sabha will be defeated by a combined opposition onslaught if combined with SP. The over-confident Congress is now feeling jittery over mixed-signals from SP over FDI vote next week.

Terming the visit by the SP leaders as a "non-political" one, 87-year-old Tiwari said they were like his family members as he has very old ties with them.

"Everything should not be associated with politics... this meeting is not a political one. Akhilesh is like my nephew and I hope he will do good work and there would be development and change in Uttar Pradesh under his leadership," the former Uttarakhand chief minister told reporters.

Tiwari, who is on a visit to Lucknow, was flanked by SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh. The overtures of Samajwadi Party to Congress veteran N D Tiwari, who holds a clout among electorate in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, ahead of 2014 general elections has given rise to speculation of growing proximity between the former chief minister with the party.

Ever since Mulayam extended an invitation to Tiwari to stay in Lucknow earlier this month, political circles in Uttarakhand have been rife with speculation about the growing proximity between the Congress veteran and the Samajwadi Party.

When asked on his viewpoint on FDI in multi-brand retail, Tiwari said he was personally in favour of FDI but could not force anyone to accept his view. "People and parties can have different viewpoint on FDI ... as per my personal views I feel that it would be beneficial but I cannot force it on anyone," he said.